Minor League Report. SWB in slump.

AAA: SWB (65-58) is slumping. They lost 5-2 Friday. Their lead is down to 2 games. They have lost five in a row and 9 of their last 10.

LF Clint Frazier 2 hits. C Kyle Higashioka 2 hits, RBI. RF Trey Amburgey 3 hits.

AA: Trenton (67-55) beat Reading 7-5. 2B Hoy Jun Park 2 hits, 2 RBI. CF Ben Ruta 3 hits. DH Isiah Gilliam 3-run HR. C Kellin Deglan solo HR.

High A: Tampa’s game was suspended with Tampa up 4-0 in the fourth inning.

Low A: Charleston (64-60) lost 12-3. DH Josh Breaux 3-run HR. –

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Game 124. Tanaka Time! Yanks edge Tribe, 3-2.

After a really rough stretch, the Masahiro Tanaka we have seen the last two times out is the Tanaka that Yankees’ fans are hoping to see in October.

The Yanks assured a winning season with win #82. Their last non-winning season was in 1992. 27 years ago. An impressive stretch, but still a long ways away from the stretch of 1925 to 1965 without a losing season.

Since 1925, the only times the Yankees have had a losing season were 1965-1967, 1969, 1973, 1982, and 1989-1992, with the worst year being 1990.

Only ten losing seasons in 94 years. Not bad.  Not bad at all.

At 82-42, the Yanks now have a 10 1/2 game lead over Tampa Bay in the AL East and the magic # for clinching the division outright (barring any tiebreaker scenario) is down to 29.

The Yanks scored first, getting two in the bottom of the first. With one out, Aaron Judge and Gio Urshela singled. After a force out, putting runners on first and third with two out, Gary Sanchez singled for one run and Gleyber Torres singled for another.

Tanaka gave up a solo HR in the top of the second that cut the Yanks’ lead to 2-1.

In the bottom of the second, Yasier Puig threw out Cameron Maybin at the plate to keep another Yankees’ run from scoring. This would make the Yanks justifiably gun-shy of Puig’s cannon the rest of the game. I’ll get to that in a minute.

With two out in the fifth, Aaron Judge doubled, and Gio Urshela singled. Judge was going to be held at third (Puig’s arm) but Puig bobbled the ball for an error, enabling Judge to score. It turned out to be the decisive play in the game.

Tanaka gave up a solo HR to Puig in the seventh. 3-2 Yanks. Tommy Kahnle came in with a man on second, one out, and got two strikeouts to maintain the Yankees’ lead.

In the bottom of the seventh, the Yanks loaded the bases with no one out but couldn’t score. Two balls were hit to Puig but were too shallow for D.J. LeMahieu to score. Puig’s arm would have been too much.

Having wasted a huge scoring opportunity like that, I feared the worst. But the Yanks held on.

They held on because of Brett Gardner. With a man on second and one out in the top of the eighth, Gardner made a fine running catch to rob Cleveland of a double and the tying run. It saved the game.

Before the game, Chance Adams was sent down and recently acquired Ryan Dull was added.

Judge 2 hits.
Urshela 3 hits, .342. If he qualifies for the batting title, his .342 tops D.J. LeMahieu .337.

Tanaka (W, 9-6, 4.56) 6 1/3 IP, 2 R, 4 H, 0 W, 2 K. Gave up 2 HR.
Kahnle (H, 22) 2/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 2 K.  2.88
Britton (H, 26) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K.  2.13
Chapman (S, 34) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 2 K.  2.40

 

Yanks make a minor signing; Kay to return to booth.

The Yanks signed Tyler Lyons to a minor league deal as they continue to look for depth for their bullpen.

Lyons, LHP, 31, has pitched in 150 MLB games for the Cardinals (2013-2018) and Pirates (3 games in 2019). He is 13-11, 4.20 (ERA+ 95) in his MLB career. Although he had his best year in 2017 (4-1, 2.83) he has struggled since (2-1, 9.15). Like the David Hernandez signing, a flyer.

After having had surgery on his vocal cords and having been disallowed from speaking for quite a while, broadcaster Michael Kay has been cleared to speak and will be returning to the broadcast booth tomorrow (Saturday).

Minor League Report.

AAA: SWB (65-57) lost 7-5. 1B Ryan McBroom (.325) 2 hits, RBI. 3B Mandy Alvarez 2-run HR. RF Zach Zehner solo HR.

AA: Trenton (66-55) won 6-5. They came back after being down 5-0 after two innings, scoring 3 in the third and 3 in the fifth. SS Kyle Holder 2 hits. DH Chris Gittens 2 RBI. LF Rashad Crawford 2 hits, 2 RBI, a 2-run HR. 3 hits, solo HR 1B Brandon Wagner.

James Reeves in relief (W, 7-2, 2.05) 3 1/3 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 1 W, 2 K.
Brooks Kriske (S, 11) 1 1/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K   2.13

High A:  Tampa ppd.

Low A: Charleston (64-59) lost 6-3. SS Oswald Peraza 2 hits. 2 hits, RBI, LF Canaan Smith (.310). 1B Eric Wagaman 2 hits, RBI. 3B Max Burt 2 hits, RBI. Tim Hardy (3.18) four scoreless innings of relief.

Game 123. Ugh. Yanks get hammered, lose 19-5.

Now the Yanks (81-42) know how Baltimore felt. They lost to Cleveland, 19-5, giving up seven homers in doing so. The lead in the AL East got cut to 9 1/2 over the Rays, and the magic # remains at 31. They still lead Houston by 2 1/2 for best record in the AL, and are tied with the Dodgers for best record in baseball.

When you have 162 games, you will have a game where you win like this, but one where you’ll lose like this.

The opener, Chad Green, didn’t open very well.

One out, five runs. Back-to-back HR. Grand slam and solo HR. Six batters into the game, the Yanks were down 5-0 and they didn’t even come to bat yet.

Ugh.

Jonathan Loaisiga came in. He had spent half the season on the IL. He got an out, but then gave up a hit then a HR. 7-0, and the Yanks didn’t come to bat yet. Double Ugh.

Loaisiga has electric stuff, but hasn’t channeled it at the MLB level yet. Injuries have also set him back.

The Yanks tried to come back in the bottom of the first. D.J. LeMahieu singled, Aaron Judge was called out on strikes, then Didi Gregorius and Gio Urshela each singled, Urshela driving in D.J. 7-1.  But they left the bases loaded. A couple hard-hit outs, but no luck. At least they got one back, but still, a long row to hoe, and a deficit they couldn’t overcome.

And that deficit grew larger.

Loaisiga gave up a 2-run HR in the second to Jose Ramirez, who had hit the grand slam in the first, and it was 9-1. Triple ugh.

As I was saying about Loaisiga. He strikes out the side in the second, showing his potential, but between coming in in the first inning and getting the three outs in the second, he gave up 2 HR before getting five outs. He needs consistency. Goes 2 2/3, gets 4 K, but gave up 4 R on 2 HR.

24, so hopefully he learns.

Chance Adams came in and wasn’t better. Adams had a couple nice seasons in the minors (28-6, 2.39 combined 2016-2017) a few years ago, but has regressed. In AAA for 2018-2019 he’s 8-8, about 4.60 and in 11 MLB games, he is 1-1, 7.36. He gave up five runs, including a HR. Adams just turned 25. We’ll see how he progresses or regresses.

The Yanks will have to make key decisions soon on both Loaisiga and Adams. Are either part of the future?

Things got so bad that 1B/DH Mike Ford had to pitch in order to save the bullpen. He gave up five runs in the eighth. He gave up 2 HR that inning. At that point it didn’t matter whether you lost 14-2, 19-2, 19-5, whatever. It still counts as just one loss, no matter what the margin of defeat was.

Aaron Judge is in an awful slump. He went 0 for 5 with 4 strikeouts and is down to .257. You wonder about that oblique.

The Yanks got solo homers from Didi Gregorius in the fifth that made it 12-2, Gary Sanchez in the sixth that made it 12-3, and Gleyber Torres in the eighth for the final run of the game.

LeMahieu 2 hits, .338
Gregorius 3 hits, solo HR (10)
Urshela 2 hits, 2 RBI .337
Sanchez solo HR (27)
Torres solo HR (27)

Close your eyes. These will be ugly.

Green (L, 2-4, 5.59)  1/3 IP, 5 R, 4 H, 1 W, 1 K.  Gave up 2 HR
Loaisiga 2 2/3 IP, 4 R, 4 H, 0 W, 4 K.   5.94        Gave up 2 HR
Adams    3 2/3 IP, 5 R, 10 H, 3 W, 2 K. 7.48        Gave up 1 HR
Cortes, Jr. 1/3 IP,  0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K.   4.41
Ford           2 IP, 5 R, 6 H, 0 W, 1 K.      22.50       Gave up 2 HR.

The Yanks signed David Hernandez after he was released by the Reds to a minor league deal. Hernandez, RHP, 34, has had a bad 2019 (2-5, 8.02 for the Reds in 47 games), and is 38-47, 4.12 (ERA+ 103) in his MLB career. He has spent time with Baltimore (2009-2010), Arizona (2011-2013, 2015), Philadelphia (2016) the Dodgers (2017) Arizona II (2017) and Cincinnati (2018-2019). It’s a flyer. He was 5-2, 2.53 for the Reds in 2018.

 

 

 

 

Minor League Report. SWB loses wild slugfest, 13-12. Wins for AA, A+, A.

AAA: SWB (65-56) lost a wild one, 13-12. After five innings, SWB was down 7-2. They scored 8 runs in the seventh and led 12-8 after 7. But they gave up 2 in the eighth, 2 in the 9th, and 1 in the tenth to lose the game.

SS Tyler Wade 2 hits, 3 RBI. C Kyle Higashioka 2 RBI. 1B Ryan McBroom 2 RBI. 2 hits, 2 RBI, 2-run HR, CF Trey Amburgey.

AA: Trenton (65-55) won 8-1. 2B Hoy Jun Park 2 hits, RBI. 1B Chris Gittens solo HR. LF Isiah Gilliam 3 RBI. CF Matt Lipka 3 hits.

Stephan (W, 2-4, 5.74) 5 IP, 1 R, 5 H, 2 W, 7 K.
Bristo 2 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 1 W, 2 K.  3.78
Weissert 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 0 K.  1.26
Lane 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K. 1.88

High A: Tampa (55-64) won 11-4. CF Pablo Olivares 2 hits, 2 RBI. 3B Wilkerman Garcia 2 hits. 2B Oswaldo Cabrera 3 hits. DH Alexander Palma 4 RBI–Grand Slam. SS Diego Castillo 2 RBI. 1B Mickey Gasper 2 hits. C Donny Sands 2 hits, 2 RBI.

Starter Miguel Yajure (W, 8-6, 2.15) 7 IP, 3 R, 5 H, 0 W, 9 K.

Low A:  Charleston (64-58) won 3-1 on a two-hitter.

Starter Roansy Contreras (W, 9-5, 3.62) 7 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 0 W, 10 K. Gave up 1 HR.
Lehnen (S, 3) 2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 2 K.  2.33

Game 122. Unleash the Kraken! Yanks edge Orioles, 6-5.

The Yankees (81-41) edged Baltimore 6-5 Wednesday afternoon. The win was the Yanks 16th in a row vs. the Orioles and they went 17-2 against them this year.

With win #81 of the season, the Yanks ensured that they would not have a losing season. The last time that happened was in 1992.

Gary Sanchez, who had been slumping until Tuesday, had 3 hits and 3 RBI, including a 3-run HR. Good to get him going again. It was the 10th HR he hit against Baltimore this year. With Gleyber Torres hitting 13, they became the second pair of Yankees to each hit 10 or more homers against the same opponent since Ruth and Gehrig, who each mashed 11 home runs off Red Sox pitchers in 1927. (MLB.com)

Some company.

From MLB.com:

The 16 consecutive victories over Baltimore, is their longest single-season streak since winning 21 straight over the 1927 St. Louis Browns.

By going 17-2 against the O’s, it represented the Yanks’ best showing since they won 17 of 22 against the Kansas City Athletics in 1959. They also established a Major League record by belting 61 home runs against a single opponent, having homered in all 19 games against Baltimore. (43 of the HR were at Camden Yards, another record).

Torres also legged out a sixth-inning double, becoming the first Yankee to record 17 extra-base hits against one opponent in a single season since Mickey Mantle had 18 extra-base hits against the 1957 White Sox.

Before the game, the move was Thairo Estrada coming up, Adonis Rosa sent back down.

J.A. Happ gave up a run in the top of the first but the Yanks came right back with four in the bottom half.

Brett Gardner walked and Aaron Judge hit into a forceout. Gio Urshela singled, then Didi Gregorius singled in a run, with Urshela moving to third. Sanchez then launched a 3-run HR (26).

Baltimore got a run in the third to cut it to 4-2.

In the sixth, the Yanks got two runs to make it 6-2. With two out, Sanchez singled and Torres got that double. Mike Tauchman walked to load the bases and Mike Ford singled in two runs.

The Orioles got 3 runs off of Luis Cessa in the seventh.

Sanchez 3 for 3 with a walk. 3-run HR (26). Scored 2x, drove in 3.
Ford 2 RBI

Happ (W, 10-7, 5.40) 5 IP, 2 R, 6 H, 3 W, 6 K.
Cessa (H, 4) 1 2/3 IP, 3 R, 2 H, 1 W, 1 K.  4.33
Ottavino (H, 25) 1/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K.  1.70
Britton (H, 25) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 1 K.  2.17
Chapman (S, 33) 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 2 K.   2.45

The Yanks claimed RHP Ryan Dull, 29, off of waivers. He was 0-0, 12.00 for Oakland this year. For his career, 8-9, 4.08, all with Oakland (2015-2019). He was claimed off of waivers from the Giants. His best year was in 2016 when he was 5-5, 2.42 for the A’s.

Brady Lail was DFA’d. Tough week for Mantiply and Lail. In the same game, Mantiply gets his first MLB win and Lail makes his MLB debut. In just a few days, both get DFA’d.

With today’s win, the Yanks’ lead in the AL East goes to 10 since the Rays lost. The magic # for the Yankees clinching their first AL East title since 2012 is 31 (updated the #, was one too many. 31.).